CRONENBERG CRASHES CANNES

04/16/1999 at 12:00 AM EDT

David Cronenberg, whose movie "Crash" prompted both boos and raves at the Cannes Film Festival three years ago, will head this year's jury, the Festival announced Thursday. "It's going to be intoxicating and thrilling, and I can't wait," said the Canadian director. Cronenberg, who also directed "The Fly" and "Dead Ringers," won the 1996 Grand Jury prize at Cannes for "Crash," which stunned many with its scenes of lovers getting their kicks from car crashes. Despite the award, there were boos and walkouts, too. At this year's Berlin Film Festival, Cronenberg was represented with a sci-fi mystery, "eXistenZ," which was awarded a special jury prize for outstanding artistic achievement. Last year's jury president was American director Martin Scorsese.